Interview w/ Vance Smith

In every generation the world is privy to witness a select collective of individuals, through their looks, talent, and personalities; these amazing individuals manage to grab hold and captivate the masses in only a manner that they are innately equipped to do. Leaving international footprints all across the globe, these individuals undeniably prove themselves to be dominating global forces, whose impressions are a life-lasting experience.

Such is the case for NY native Vance Smith. Vance, it is truly an honor and a pleasure to be able to have this interview with you. We’ve been friends for quite some time both in and out the studio and I have watched you grow as an Artist more than anyone I know.

So before we go on I just want to congratulate you on all the great work you have been putting out and all your success! Congrats. Thanks man you’ve been super supportive since the time we’ve met. It’s greatly appreciated

Definitely! We met when you were going to College in Columbus, GA at CSU. It seems like you’ve been around a bit. Being from New York and then migrating to Atlanta very early in your musical growth how do you feel the two cities have impacted you as an artist? Yeah it’s really been a blessing to have been around a few different cultures. I feel like the core of my beliefs and my drive to really make things happen are a result of me being raised in NY. However, there are certain things I’ve picked up in the south that have helped me a lot along the way. For instance, people are a lot more polite in Atlanta as opposed to NY. Talking to strangers was weird at first, but I feel like it’s helped me to be a more sociable person. Musically, growing up in NY, your talent was all that spoke for you. That’s why lyrics are super important to me and that won’t change. The south has helped me understand the importance of the “feel-good” aspect of your music. Aside from the lyrical content, the melodies, beat, and overall vibe of the song have to be appealing or it won’t connect. So my music reflects a mash-up of all these different ideas

Being a RnB Singer AND a Rapper you are definitely multi-talented. Have you always been both a singer and rapper or did you discover you could do both later on? Thanks. I started off rapping, and not really having the desire to explore my vocal ability. I started out working as a duo with a singer so it was easy for me to just write singing parts and let him sing them. Once I was on my own, I started messing around with singing on some hooks. Once people were telling me they liked it, I felt more encouraged to work at it. Now here I am, doing both rap and real r&b

What do you feel is your strongest aspect as an artist? Do you prefer RnB or Rapping more? I just work everyday to get stronger in both areas. I dont classify myself as a rapper or a singer I just like to create the best music I can, and express what it’s my mind in the greatest way possible. I dont force rapping or singing, I just do whatever I want at the time and I’m going to kill it either way!

I’ve been around and seen most of the work you’ve done over the years but your last Mixtape “23 Reasons” topped them all. Incredible piece of music and it shows all your skills and attributes as an artist. What do you think made “23 Reasons” so defining to you as an Artist and to your career? I put a 100% effort into that project with the resources I had at the time, and I feel like it showed in the music. “23 Reasons” was a full, very cohesive album, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. Although it was a great beginning, I feel like my new work is a much better reflection of my ability. Less limits on my time in the studio and more work honing my skills have really brought out the best in me this time around.

“Things I Didn’t Do” from 23 Reasons is one of my personal favorites. I know I speak for many people when I say you took the words right out of my mouth with those lyrics. It sounds like there are a lot of personal emotions behind not only this record but most of your work. Do you put a lot of your personal life into your music and write from personal experiences? Definitely! All of my songs are based on situations I’ve either gone through or witnessed very closely. Most of the time it’s directly from a personal experience, though. My music always has some type of purpose to it. Even if it’s a song for everyone to dance to I always do it in a way that tells a story. I’m not too creative in the fiction department, so I always draw from very real experiences. As a result, my music is very relatable, as there is nothing new under the sun and we all go through a lot of the same things.

Let’s talk a little bit about your new project. You have a new EP coming out called “1956”. Tell us where the name for the record came from and what we can expect on the new EP? The title of the record is based on a few different influences. First and foremost, I am a lover of Corvettes. The first, full-on competitive sports car version of the Corvette was the 1956 model. Also, my mother was born in 1956. She’s been very instrumental in me pursuing my singing skills. Furthermore, 1956 was around the time that Elvis was really introducing rock and roll to the world. He had a crazy successful year. Dropped about nine EPs, two LPs, 11 singles, 5 of which went number one. It was huge, but it was african americans who really created the rock and roll sound. The label Elvis signed to was in love with black music and wanted to popularize it. So my project is an R&B EP, with a different type of vibe to it than a lot of other R&B music these days. I’m paying tribute in my own way to that time period by really focusing on musicianship, lyrical content, and bringing a new wave to the game.

You just dropped a new video for your latest single “Stay Real! Tell us about the video and what we can expect from Vance Smith over the next year? Well “Stay Real” was one of my personal favorites off of 23 Reasons. It’s not a single that we’ll be pushing but it’s the first in a series of visuals that I’ll be hitting people with over the next year. You can definitely expect me to be flooding you guys with videos, which is something I haven’t done in the past. So I am excited and I think everyone else should be too. It’s going to be dope!

Awesome Man, I speak for many people when I say We are looking forward to it. Thank You again for taking the time to talk with us here at StupidDope. Let the fans know where they can hear more from Vance Smith. Thank YOU bro it’s always a pleasure. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @vance_smith and keep up with the website Vance Smith Music. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to check me out!